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Editorial Reviews

Originally released in 1993, this exceptional recording of Johannes Ockeghem's "Requiem" has been reissued in Harmonia Mundi's Musique d'abord line with a change of packaging and a reduction of price. This "Requiem" is a beautiful example of the plainchant mass and is the earliest surviving polyphonic Mass for the Dead. It was most likely written in 1461 and originally consisted of the Introit, Kyrie eleison, Graduale, Tractus, and the Offertorium. All the other texts were probably sung in unembellished plainchant, following normal church practice. In this pre-Tridentine setting, the "Requiem" appears truncated, but to call this performance a reconstruction or a completion is not quite accurate since Ockeghem's work was as complete as he deemed necessary. However, to give this recording a semblance of completeness for modern listeners, Ockeghem's movements are presented within the liturgical context, with the Epistle, Gospel, Agnus Dei, and Libera Me sung by Marcel Pérès and Ensemble Organum in plainchant. The Sanctus and Communio, though, are provided as supplements to flesh out the work; attributed to Antonius Divitis, they follow Ockeghem's style using the same ornamented chant lines and fauxbourdons in the lower voices. Ensemble Organum's male voices blend well, are flexible, and make the contrapuntal lines quite transparent. In the Sanctus, they are joined by three members of Les Pages de la Chapelle, whose voices add a bright luster to the otherwise somber coloration of this work. Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

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